Parties find guests helping cook dinner with ingredients the hosts have prepped and measured in advance. “The cooking is just the icing on the cake” after the wine, the jokes and the conversation start to flow, Paco says.

What's cooking: During the week, Denise prepares simple dinners such as tostadas with black beans and roasted chicken. Paco is the grill master, known for steaks topped with flavored butter and hot sauce made with chiles de árbol. On Sundays, Paco makes his famous pancakes, and Denise takes the day off from cooking.

In this kitchen: The couple built their house in Fair Oaks Ranch three years ago.

The space: 19 by 20 feet, including the breakfast area, and open to the family room.

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On the surfaces: Keeping with the rustic hacienda theme, the Novoas chose knotty alder cabinets and gold- and brown-toned Copper Canyon granite for the island with a sister pattern on perimeter counters.

Paco installed the tile floors and tumbled marble backsplash. Split-rock tiles on the face of the bar stand up to frequent kicks from shoes. “We needed something that would take the beating,” Paco says.

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Completing the look is a copper sink with sunflowers embossed on the apron. It gleams after a scrubbing with Bar Keeper's Friend, but Denise says she likes it just as well with the patina that comes with use.

Why it works: Between the kitchen, dining room, breakfast area and patio, Denise can seat 30 people “without moving a stick of furniture.” That's especially good at holidays and other occasions when her large extended family gathers at her home.

A pot filler faucet at the stove has proven useful for pasta, posole, menudo and other soups. “It was a good choice because of all the soups we make,” she says.

The bar is stepped down at table height on one end, which works well for serving and for young visitors. “I wish I'd done it on the other side because it's more practical,” Denise says.

Play it again: On weekends, Paco and Denise watch chefs Lidia Bastianich and Rick Bayless on television for inspiration. They frequently prepare a menu one of the celeb chefs has demonstrated, rewinding to catch finer points.

In the family: Denise's mom, whom she describes as a “Donna Reed,” always had a dinner of a meat, starch and vegetable on the table when her dad came home from work at Kelly AFB. “My mother is 91, so there's something to it,” Denise says.

When Paco was growing up in Mexico City, he learned to make sauces, hot sauce and rice from his mom, a San Antonio native who loved to cook.

Now Paco's daughter Gabi, 21, drops in on weekends to cook. And their son Nicholas, 13, is learning his way around the kitchen. “I can get him off the computer or TV if I say, ‘Do you want to bake some chocolate chip cookies?'” Denise says.

Know of a good cook with a great kitchen? Email suggestions for Cooks & Cocinas to Home & Garden Editor Tracy Hobson Lehmann, tlehmann@express-news.net.